Ever since the Enron and WorldCom financial disasters, CPA’s
across the country have been required annually to take two hours of ethics
courses. At the last one I attended, the
instructor made the comment; “Character is how God looks at you when no one
else is in the room”. Then he went on to
say; “When challenged between the right thing and the legal thing, always do
the right thing”. That was interesting.
We use the term “separation of church and state”
frequently. This phrase is not in the
Constitution, but in a letter by Thomas Jefferson. The Bill of Rights prohibited the
establishment of a religion by the government in the first amendment. But, how do you separate church and state,
when the elements of “character” come from the Bible and teachings of
Jesus? There is an expectation of
character in our leaders. We have laws
regarding theft, slander and fraud but do those come from politicians or the
commandments and psalm of David? We have
laws against unreasonable interest rates, but so does the psalm of David.
Now that we are in a political race at the national level,
shouldn’t we look for one that “speaks the truth from their heart”, “who casts
no slur on others”, and “keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change
their mind”? Let us not forget, God
gives us ways to live and when we will be welcome in his house, and they apply
to everyone.
Prayer: Heavenly
father, we struggle at times to find the right thing to do, when you have
already told us. We try to understand
others, when you have explained who is welcome in your house. We are thankful for your guidance and pray
for the wisdom to listen to you first.
Amen.
Steve Beebe
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